Fantasy Pool Look: 13 players who excel at home

Some players perform better at home. Others get it done on the road. When making a difficult roster decision, consider this information as a tie-breaker.

In this two-part set, I’ll take a look at the home and road performances of players around the league and draw your attention to some standouts. Can’t decide between Anze Kopitar and Joe Pavelski this week? Well, since Kopitar plays two more games this week, one at home and the other on the road, it may be best to go with Pavelski. Kopitar has 17 of his 23 points at home (13 games), but just six in 12 on the road. Whereas Little Joe has 13 in 10 home games and plays all three of his games this week at home.

Here are the notable players who have had significant production this season within the confines of their home arena.

Brandon Dubinsky, Columbus Blue Jackets
Dubinsky has 11 points in 11 games at home, while managing just four in 10 on the road. The problem is, he’s currently hampered by a foot injury. The injury could be as serious as “week to week,” but it sounds like the doctors have yet to even really identify the problem.

Matt Duchene and P-A Parenteau, Colorado Avalanche
Parenteau played the bulk of the first 10 games with rookie Nathan MacKinnon as his centerman, but has since been moved back with his buddy Duchene. The two worked magic together last year and seem to have picked up where they left off before Duchene suffered an oblique injury a week ago. Duchene has 13 points in 11 home games (seven in eight on the road). With Parenteau, it’s more extreme – 12 in 12 at home, but four in 10 away from the Pepsi Center. Duchene is expected back mid-week.

Tomas Hertl, San Jose Sharks
The dazzling rookie made his presence felt Oct. 8 when he scored four times in a game against the Rangers. Since his seven points in his first three career NHL games, he has a more reasonable 11 points in 20 games. Those productive first three games were all home games, which obviously play a huge role in Hertl’s overall home number of 12 points in 10 contests.

Anze Kopitar, Los Angeles Kings
Besides his 17 points in 13 home games this year, Kopitar had 24 in 23 last campaign for a two-year total of 41 in 36. On the road, that two-year total becomes 24 in 36.

Torey Krug, Boston Bruins
The rookie defenseman has tallied 12 of his 15 points on home ice. Granted, the Bruins have played a lopsided portion of their schedule at home so far (15 of 24), but that’s still pretty significant. Starting Dec. 5 the team spends a lot of time on the road leading up to Christmas, meaning Krug will be in for a decline next month unless he can solve the road riddle.

Andrew Ladd, Winnipeg Jets
Ladd was 12th in the league in points at home with 15 in 16 games. Just four points in 10 contests when the team leaves Manitoba. Starting Monday night, the Jets play six straight on the road.

Matt Moulson, Buffalo Sabres
Moulson is struggling this season on the road, with just four points in 10 games. This has been the case whether he was playing for the Sabres or the Islanders. Thankfully for Moulson owners, Buffalo plays seven of its next 10 at home.

T.J. Oshie, St. Louis Blues
Oddly enough, Oshie struggled at home last season, notching just eight points in 14 games. But 2013-14 is another matter as he has 15 in 14 games.

Zach Parise, Minnesota Wild
The 29-year-old has 14 points in 13 games at the Xcel Energy Center, but just eight in 12 road games. It’s no surprise that the Wild are 10-1-2 at home.

Alex Pietrangelo, St. Louis Blues
The St. Louis Blues are 11-1-2 at home. Thanks to the aforementioned Oshie and 23-year-old defenseman Pietrangelo, the team is tough to beat at the Scottrade Center. Pietrangelo has 13 in 14 at home, but six in nine on the road.

Mason Raymond, Toronto Maple Leafs
Tallying 11 points in 13 games at the ACC is an easy way to endear yourself to Leafs fans. The speedy Raymond is becoming a fan favorite. But fantasy owners aren’t big on his road production – six points in 11 games.

Mike Richards, Los Angeles Kings
The fact both Kopitar and Richards are on this list when they don’t play on the same line tells me something without even looking up the stats – the Kings power play at home is better than on the road. Sure enough, they are 20.4 percent successful at home with the man advantage, versus 15.4 percent on the road.

Coming Thursday – the Road Warriors

Darryl Dobbs’ Fantasy Pool Look is an in-depth presentation of player trends, injuries and much more as it pertains to rotisserie pool leagues. Also, get the top 300 roto-player rankings on the first of every month in THN’s Fantasy section. Do you have a question about fantasy hockey? Send it to the Fantasy Mailbag.